§589.209. Prohibitions or strict conditions with respect to correspondent or payable-through accounts of foreign financial institutions that have knowingly facilitated certain significant transactions.
31 C.F.R. § 589.209
Prohibited activities. A U.S. financial institution shall not:
Open or maintain a correspondent account or a payable-through account in the United States for a foreign financial institution for which the opening or maintaining of such an account is prohibited pursuant to this section; or
Maintain a correspondent account or a payable-through account in the United States for a foreign financial institution in a manner that is inconsistent with any strict condition imposed and in effect pursuant to this section.
Sanctionable activity by foreign financial institutions involving certain activity for persons with respect to which sanctions are imposed pursuant to section 4 of the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014, as amended (22 U.S.C. 8921-8930) (UFSA). The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, may determine that a foreign financial institution knowingly engages, on or after August 2, 2017, in significant transactions involving the following activities for persons with respect to which sanctions are imposed pursuant to section 4 of UFSA (22 U.S.C. 8923):
Knowingly manufacturing or selling defense articles transferred into Syria or into the territory of a specified country without the consent of the internationally recognized government of that country;
Transferring defense articles into Syria or into the territory of a specified country without the consent of the internationally recognized government of that country; or
Brokering or otherwise assisting in the transfer of defense articles into Syria or into the territory of a specified country without the consent of the internationally recognized government of that country; or
Knowingly, on or after December 18, 2014, assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, any entity owned or controlled by the Government of the Russian Federation or owned or controlled by nationals of the Russian Federation; and with respect to an activity described in paragraph (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this section;
Knowingly making a significant investment in a special Russian crude oil project; or
The withholding by Gazprom of significant natural gas supplies from member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or further withholding by Gazprom of significant natural gas supplies from countries such as Ukraine, Georgia, or Moldova.
Sanctionable activity by foreign financial institutions on behalf of Russian persons included on the SDN List. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, may determine that a foreign financial institution has, on or after September 1, 2017, knowingly facilitated a significant financial transaction on behalf of any Russian person included on OFAC's SDN List pursuant to UFSA, E.O. 13660, E.O. 13661, E.O. 13662, or any other Executive order addressing the crisis in Ukraine.
Imposition of sanctions on foreign financial institutions. Upon determining that a foreign financial institution has engaged in sanctionable activity described in paragraph (b) or (c) of this section, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall:
Prohibit the opening by a U.S. financial institution of a correspondent account or a payable-through account in the United States for the foreign financial institution; and
Prohibit or impose one or more strict conditions on the maintaining by a U.S. financial institution of a correspondent account or a payable-through account in the United States for the foreign financial institution. Such conditions may include the following:
Prohibiting or restricting any provision of trade finance through the correspondent account or payable-through account of the foreign financial institution;
Restricting the transactions that may be processed through the correspondent account or payable-through account of the foreign financial institution to certain types of transactions, such as personal remittances;
Placing monetary limits on, or limiting the volume of, the transactions that may be processed through the correspondent account or payable-through account of the foreign financial institution;
Requiring pre-approval from the U.S. financial institution for all transactions processed through the correspondent account or payable-through account of the foreign financial institution; or
Prohibiting or restricting the processing of foreign exchange transactions through the correspondent account or payable-through account of the foreign financial institution.
Notes, amendments, and revision history
Amendments
[87 FR 26099, May 2, 2022, as amended at 91 FR 46843, July 27, 2026]
Authority
Authority: 3 U.S.C. 301; 22 U.S.C. 8901-8910, 8921-8930; 31 U.S.C. 321(b); 50 U.S.C. 1601-1651, 1701-1706; Pub. L. 101-410, 104 Stat. 890, as amended (28 U.S.C. 2461 note); Pub. L. 115-44, 131 Stat. 886 (codified in scattered sections of 22 U.S.C.); E.O. 13660, 79 FR 13493, 3 CFR, 2014 Comp., p. 226; E.O. 13661, 79 FR 15535, 3 CFR, 2014 Comp., p. 229; E.O. 13662, 79 FR 16169, 3 CFR, 2014 Comp., p. 233; E.O. 13685, 79 FR 77357, 3 CFR, 2014 Comp., p. 313., E.O. 13849, 3 CFR, 2018 Comp., p. 875, E.O. 14065, 87 FR 10293, 3 CFR, 2022 Comp., p. 340.
Source
Source: 87 FR 26099, May 2, 2022, unless otherwise noted.
Amendments
[87 FR 26099, May 2, 2022, as amended at 91 FR 46843, July 27, 2026]